Field Level Media
02 Apr 2023, 11:49 GMT+10
Carter Verhaeghe recorded a natural hat trick to highlight his career-high four-goal performance on Saturday, lifting the visiting Florida Panthers to a 7-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Alex Lyon made 21 saves to post his first career shutout. He was making his third straight start in place of two-time Vezina Trophy recipient Sergei Bobrovsky, who has been sidelined by a non-COVID illness.
Sam Reinhart collected a goal and two assists, Eric Staal had one of each and Nick Cousins also scored as the Panthers (39-31-7, 85 points) moved into sole possession of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Florida won its third game in a row in a row to leapfrog Pittsburgh mere hours after the Penguins dropped a 4-3 decision to the Boston Bruins.
Captain Aleksander Barkov and former Blue Jackets forward Anthony Duclair each had three assists for the Panthers.
Michael Hutchinson turned aside 42 shots for the Blue Jackets (23-44-8, 54 points), who have lost four in a row and 11 of their last 14 games (3-9-2).
With his team on the power play, Reinhart converted his third whack at a loose puck following Matthew Tkachuk's centering feed to open the scoring at 12:03 of the first period. Reinhart's goal was his 29th of the season and 15th with the man advantage.
Verhaeghe doubled the advantage with 2:31 remaining in the first period after one-timing defenseman Gustav Forsling's centering pass past Hutchinson.
Verhaeghe completed his third career hat trick in short order. He cleaned up a rebound of defenseman Aaron Ekblad's point shot at 18 seconds of the second period before his wrist shot from the left circle beat Hutchinson at 6:34.
Verhaeghe has nine goals and five assists in 12 career games versus Columbus.
Cousins roofed a shot over a prone Hutchinson at 8:34 of the third period before Verhaeghe converted at the doorstep at 11:18 to boost his goal total to a team-high 40. Staal capped the scoring just under three minutes later.
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of Boston Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Boston Star.
More InformationSAN FRANCISCO, California: Across the U.S., a growing number of people are taking obesity treatment into their own hands — literally....
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Under pressure from European regulators, Apple has revamped its App Store policies in the EU, introducing...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The U.S. dollar tumbled this week, hitting its lowest levels since 2021 against the euro, British pound, and...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Walmart is set to close a major Sam's Club fulfillment center in Fort Worth, Texas, as part of a shift in...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: A U.S. judge has dismissed a copyright lawsuit filed by 13 authors against Meta Platforms, the company that...
DUBAI, U.A.E: Oman is set to introduce a personal income tax as part of its strategy to reduce dependency on hydrocarbon revenues....
Washington DC [US], June 29 (ANI): A scripted adaptation of the Karen Read murder case, which ended in a recent acquittal, is in the...
Washington [US], June 28 (ANI): US President Donald Trump hailed Supreme Court's ruling to limit the ability of lower courts to issue...
New Delhi [India], June 26 (ANI): India is leading the global GenAI charge, with 92 per cent of employees embracing such tools, well...
TIANJIN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Pet owners are splurging on smart litter boxes, blind boxes are flying off shelves overseas after going...
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 25 (ANI): The number of individuals in the top wealth brackets--those with more than a million dollars...
The US Supreme Court ruled on Friday that lone federal judges could not issue nation-wide blocks on executive orders from the White...